Among known movable partition walls of this type there is one which comprises a panel provided at one connecting end thereof with an integrally formed pillar having connecting holes and at the other end thereof with connecting hooks bent downwardly, which engage the connecting holes in the pillar of an adjacent panel thereby to connect the two adjacent panels.
In the conventional type, by engaging the connecting hooks of one panel with the connecting holes of an adjacent panel it is possible to have a plurality of panels successively connected to form a wall of a desired length.
With this conventional arrangement, however, if there exists a play in the engagement of the connecting hooks with the connecting holes, a phenomenon of lateral bending is likely to take place at the connection between adjacent panels, so that the connected panels may move laterally in the direction of their thickness. Therefore, a problem arises that it is difficult to construct a rigid partition wall which is not deformed by an external force.
As a measure to solve the above problem a rectangular platelike connector having a required bending strength may be placed on the upper end surfaces of two adjacent panels, so that the opposite end portions of the connector may be fastened by bolts to the corresponding upper end surfaces of the panels. For such fastening, however, bolts mass-produced by forging are usually used with a resulting disadvantage. The bolts mass-produced by forging have adjacent their head a stem portion the diameter of which is substantially the same as the minor diameter of the threaded portion. On the other hand, it is essential that the holes formed in the above-mentioned connector for a bolt to extend therethrough should have a diameter corresponding to the major diameter of the threaded portion of the bolt. Therefore, under the condition that the bolts fasten the connector to the panels, a gap must exist between the inner circumference of each hole and the outer circumferential surface of the stem portion of the bolt adjacent the head. As a result, the connector is fixed to the upper end surfaces of the panels only by surface friction caused by the fastening force of the bolts. With this arrangement, a high strength of connection can be expected for a while after the bolts have been fastened. However, if the component parts have been deformed after they have been used for a long time, the bolts are likely to be loosened, whereupon the connecting force caused by the aforesaid surface friction decreases, so that bending and deformation in the lateral directions at the connection between adjacent panels are likely to occur due to the gap formed between the holes and the bolts.
It is possible to improve the undesirable condition to a certain extent by increasing the number of bolts and deliberately shifting the positions of the holes through which the bolts extend. However, it is difficult to position adjacent panels accurately in such a manner. Moreover, such an arrangement would disadvantageously require more holes and bolts thereby to increase the number of steps for machining and assembly.
This invention has been proposed in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a movable partition wall in which adjacent panels can be accurately positioned and rigidly connected without sudden decrease of the connecting strength due to loosening of the fasteners, and without increase of the number of steps required for machdining and assembling parts.
Another object of the invention is to provide a movable partition wall which can connect pillars and panels securely by using connecting members and enhance the accuracy of assembly of the whole wall.